Peter Van Mol (Belgium)  

Peter grew up on a small farm in Belgium and discovered organic (biodynamic) farming in 1995. At that time it became clear to Peter that he wants to combine farming or gardening with some kind of social or pedagogic work, which he did in several forms and jobs. In 2013 Peter developed a CSA garden where a lot of people came to learn and participate: volunteers, trainees, members of the CSA group, neighbors, schoolchildren.

Just now in 2021, Peter handed over his garden project to direct his work more towards giving courses in biodynamic and in organic gardening.

"Le jardin des 10 mains" - establishing CSA with vegetable basket"

"Le jardin des 10 mains", which means the garden of 10 hands is a vegetable market garden, one of the projects of a biodynamic farm (ferme Larock) in the French speaking part of Belgium.

“In my presentation I will explain why I chose to develop a CSA with a vegetable basket system. The reasons are multiple:

•        The commitment between me and the members gives economic stability and solidarity.

•        On a social level, it brings together farmers and gardeners and people from the city and enhances exchange.

•        This exchange is very rich on an educational level, I learn about their reality and they about mine, about the joys and difficulties of growing vegetables."

Jana Koznarova (Czech Republic) 

“CSA network development in Czech Republic”

I lived and worked in the center of ecological education and I worked as a lecturer of environmental education for pupils, teachers and the public for five years. I started work for an Association of local food initiatives in September 2017. Together with my amazing colleagues, we coordinate CSA food initiatives, we are making workshops and consulting, map of the farmers  and CSA  and  educate  children  and  adults.  I used  to  manage  a  European  project  Solid  Base Erasmus  +  for  the  Czech  Republic.  There  we  were  creating  models  of  financial  self-sufficiency  and financial sustainability for farmers and coordinators of CSA together with our colleagues from Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Poland. In 2019, my colleagues and I renewed the idea of setting up a national CSA network and we are still working on it together. I also work as an auditor and consultant in the international project Eco-school and in the organization KOKOZA, which is a focus on education and education of the public in the topic of community gardens, community composting in the town and vermicomposting. There I ́m currently coordinating the project Food loop to schools including workshops for students, teachers and I ́m creating a guide for teachers on how to start how to integrate a closed cycle of food into educational processes and life at school. https://www.asociaceampi.cz/ https://kpzinfo.cz/ 

Dan Brisebois (Canada)

Dan runs the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy where he helps farmers improve their planning and management by mastering their farm spreadsheets.

Dan is a founding member of Tourne-Sol co-operative farm. Tourne-Sol produces organic vegetables for 500 weekly CSA members.Tourne-Sol also produces certified organic seeds for their online seed store and seed rack program.

“Planning For CSA Baskets At Tourne-Sol Farm”

Come and discover how CSA works at Tourne-Sol Farm.

Then let’s explore how you can plan for the price and weekly contents of your CSA basket.

https://www.facebook.com/farmerspreadsheetacademy

https://www.instagram.com/spreadsheetmaniac

http://spreadsheet.farm

Niklas Mitters (Denmark)

"Pecularities of CSA in Denmark"

Vincent Liegey (Hungary)

I have been involved in several direct trade, local farming experimentations and projects in the last 15 years, in France and in Hungary and have been following a lot of others all around Europe or in South America.

My approach is more about alternative economic models and the importance of the diversification of activities, partners, and skills in order to construct diversity and resilience.

I am particularly interested in informal solidarities and reciprocity toward more autonomy and low-tech, small is beautiful networks.

"Economic model and social projects of Cargonomia"

Cargonomia is a non-profit cooperative dealing with sustainability and well-being. Through Cargobike mobility services, it helps to connect local organic food producers and Budapest citizens. It also works to maintain an open space which hosts community events and workshops dealing with Degrowth, sustainability, social justice, low-tech and well-being.

Our partner, Zsamboki Biokert, is a 4 ha intensive organic farm. It is specialised in good composting technics. It distributes its productions through a vegetable box scheme or with direct trade in the organic market of Budapest. Cargonomia also develops urban gardening projects (agroforestry, permaculture) and drives research project in reflecting on how to rethink urban and rural cooperation and interactions.

See video:

• Cargonomia - Cargobike & local food distribution hub - Budapest
• (M)ÉRTÉK és JÓ(L)LÉT 3 - Vincent LIEGEY on Degrowth and Cargonomia

Logan Strenchock (Hungary)

Logan Strenchock is the Environmental and Sustainability Officer at Central European University (Budapest, Hungary), a garden team member at Zsámboki Biokert, a four-hectare organic fruit and vegetable farm in Hungary and a co-founder of Cargonomia, a community cargobike centre and local food distribution point in Budapest. He enjoys getting his hands dirty in mixing research and practice in degrowth-inspired experimentation with a diverse team of collaborators living in Hungary.

"CSA and Hybrid Models: The advantages and disadvantages of different marketing mechanisms in short food supply chains"

Sustainable agriculture, direct food marketing and related movements have been widely examined in technical and socio-anthropological literature but the real-life perspectives of on-farm decision-making practices – addressing how farmers balance production methods in relation to environmental and social commitments, why human-scale farming provides both unique opportunities and specific challenges, and the challenges associated in maintaining small but dynamic ‘gardening families’ are often overlooked or misinterpreted. Farm managers, especially those promoting agroecology, organic farming and socially responsible practices face much difficulty in finding working financial models which support production activities and offer a livelihood for employees. Farmers face pressure to survive within an exploitative food retail environment dominated by multinational corporations, while also striving to create new alternatives to industrial food systems through their own direct marketing pursuits. This presentation will focus on explaining the benefits and challenges associated with various direct food marketing mechanisms (including CSA, weekly food box schemes, direct producer markets, hybrid models and more) for farmers producing fruits and vegetables at small scale. Direct marketing opportunities will be analyzed through the lens of practical experiences gained within Central Europe, specifically direct marketing of local organic vegetables and fruits in Hungary, with hope that advice shared will assist new organic farmers in deciding on the most appropriate type of marketing mechanism for their own venture.

Janina Lucheiko (Ukraine)

“Solidarity farming and tourism. Opportunities for the discovery and development of rural tourism potential"

I work in the field of rural tourism and promote rest in the village. I am engaged in development of sustainable tourism in the Carpathians and I am the owner of the rural eco-estate "Sunny estate - the house in the Carpathians". Also I am growing garden www.sunnychaletua.com

I implement and promote composting as an ecological solution for self-processing of plant waste and home production of bio-humus. I have 7 years of composting experience. Together with my son we have founded the project "Very good compost" www.facebook.com/verygoodcompost.

Co-founder of the project "Verkhovyna sorts garbage" and NGO "Green Heart of the Carpathians".

Author of a children's manual on responsible treatment of garbage "Save the world from garbage. It all starts with you."

Zoltan Lengyel (Hungary)

Zoltan took over the family farm - after spending 15 years as a programmer living in Budapest - in one of the driest places in Hungary, at the edge of Hortobágy. This farm became Táncoskert, the first hungarian meat/egg CSA. Now he runs it as a profitable, holistically managed eco/permaculture farm.

"Organization of animal husbandry in CSA"

• Parents are/were arable farmers, but it makes no sense to me
• Spraying poison to our food
• Growing crops on marginal land
• For marginal (if any) profits
• 30 ha
• cattle, sheep, pigs, turkeys, laying hens, chickens, pheasants, partridges, guinea fowls, geese, ducks, rabbits
• 9th year, 8th CSA season
• birds/eggs bi-weekly
• pork monthly
• 100 families at 4 meeting places
• Profitable since the 2nd year

For more information visit farm web-site and facebook page.

See recorded presentation Táncoskert - profitable permaculture through CSA

Chrystyna Zavada (Ukraine)

"Organizational models for CSA in Ukraine"

Olena Borodina (Ukraine)

Head of the Department of Economics and Policy of Agrarian Transformation of the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Olena has a degree in agro-economics, she has completed two years of international training at the World Bank Institute for Economic Development (Washington), and participated in the one-year Fulbright Academic Exchange Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA). Member of the Scientific Council of the National Research Fund of Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of the Scientific Council, Chairman of the Section of Socio-Humanities; Member of the editorial board of the leading scientific publications "Economics and Forecasting", "Economy of Ukraine", "Ukrainian Society", the international scientific publication Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne (Poland); Chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Public Union "Ukrainian Rural Development Network"; Contact person from Ukraine in the European Rural Development Network (ERDN); Member of the Coordinating Committee of the Civil Society Mechanism of the United Nations World Food Security Committee - (CSM of CFS). She has published more than 200 scientific papers on topical issues of agricultural and rural development.

"Novel land use practices and CSA"

Abstract: Modern industrial food systems as a threat to global security, the transition to the localization of food production based on solidarity agriculture, features and needs for new land use practices, their feasibility and measures for their implementation in Ukraine.

Ján Šlinský

“Agrocircle - agroinnovation for cultivating vegetables”

The system called “Agokruh” (“Agrocircle”) was designed by Ján Šlinský and is focused on mechanical cultivation of soil avoiding damage of soil microorganisms. This system is based on agricultural bridge technology used over the world mostly to carry irrigation. This system uses the technology to cultivate and aerate the soil without turning, plant the seedlings and carry the farmer for manual weeding or harvesting. The system works on electricity, so in future could be updated to work only on renewable resources.

Watch video clip

Watch also Agrocircle - First-hand Vegetables and more than “Bio””